


I Can Hear The Marching Feet

by bottombitch



Category: Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: Christianity, Courier has Legion affiliation, Fluff and Smut, God-Approved Missionary Sex, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:07:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24425500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bottombitch/pseuds/bottombitch
Summary: After the defeat of the White Legs, Octavius feels some complicated emotions regarding both his allegiance to Caesar's Legion and the man who had called that allegiance into question: Joshua Graham. An invitation from the former Legate gives him an opportunity to face those feelings. Commission for SuperSaiyanHollow.
Relationships: Male Courier/Joshua Graham
Comments: 3
Kudos: 39





	I Can Hear The Marching Feet

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SuperSaiyanHollow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuperSaiyanHollow/gifts).



The trials and tribulations of post-apocalypse America left traits such as morality and righteousness without much value. That was the lesson that Octavius had learned throughout his time spent in Zion National Park. The words coming from Daniel's mouth had sounded nice, but they ultimately meant very little when it came to their application. The only way forward had been the words of Joshua Graham, a man who by all accounts, Octavius should have hated.

Octavius, whose previous name had been intentionally abandoned, was a high-ranking member of Caesar's Legion, the same organisation that had cast Joshua Graham into the grand canyon, scarred both physically and mentally. By any measure, the two should have hated one another, but hate wasn't the word for the bond that had formed between them. There was mutual respect, a fondness having budded between them after initially only keeping away from each other's throats for the sake of solving Zion's White Legs problem.

As Octavius looked into the flames of the celebratory bonfire that followed the defeat of the White Legs, he couldn't help but think about Joshua's situation. If Caesar knew that Octavius had been doing these last few weeks, he would almost certainly give him the same treatment that he had given Joshua, and yet, Octavius couldn't rationalise why he would deserve such a thing. He had made all the right choices—the choices that anyone in his position would have, but he would be marked for death regardless of that?

It didn't help that he had spent a lot of his time with Joshua trying to broaden his perspective on the world. For all of the experiences that Octavius had under his belt, his exposure to people who were actually willing to teach him had been limited. Usually, they just wanted him to do their dirty work for them, but Joshua was different. He wasn't innocent, nor did he pretend to be, but he carried a unique perspective on the world that he was eager to share. It was as inspiring as it was terrifying for the loyalty-bound atheist.

His allegiance to The Legion was true, but amongst those internal revelations, it felt a little shakier. He looked up from the flames for what must have been the first time in half an hour or so, glanced between the people dancing, and then looked over towards Joshua's cave. Stood in the mouth, it looked as if Joshua had been waiting for him to do exactly that. He nodded in Octavius' direction and then beckoned for him to join him inside the cave. With the guilt of his previous thoughts still sitting in his stomach, Octavius moved to his feet and headed over, not feeling much up to the celebrations anyhow, no matter how much he had earned them.

It was only once they were inside the cave and stood by the desk at which they had first met that Joshua paused, leaning against the desk as he looked at Octavius. As the former Courier looked back at him, he wasn't sure what to make of Joshua's gaze. It occurred to him that Joshua may feel threatened by him, assured that now that he's no longer of any use, he might get bumped off in an attempt to appease Caesar, but Joshua was hard to read, and he hadn't said anything yet.

"I want to thank you," he began, reaching up to pinch his nose through the cloth obscuring his face. "We've been through a lot these past few weeks. It's no secret that I didn't trust you at first, but... you've turned yourself into quite the trusty little follower, haven't you?" As he spoke, he carried a tone that Octavius wasn't sure what to make of, but he didn't seem angry.

"I don't think I require thanks," Octavius replied, denying the thanks moreso out of an obligation to Caesar than because he truly felt as if the things he had done were unremarkable.

"I don't recall asking. I'm giving you them regardless," Joshua replied, before pausing. After a moment of heavy silence, he reached up and began to fumble with the cloth around his head, pulling part of it down and out of the way so that his mouth was visible. He reached into the desk, pulled out two glasses and a bottle, then poured some whiskey into the two glasses before sliding the bottle of whiskey back into the drawer. "Along with this," Joshua said, lifting his own glass while he held the other out to Octavius.

Though he was unsure at first, Octavius soon stepped forward to take the glass that was being offered to him. Above all else, he felt like he needed a drink. Joshua was the first to take a sip—Octavius made sure of it—and then the former courier took a sip of his own.

"The truth is..." Joshua began, smacking his lips to rid himself of the alcohol's burn, "I've been watching you closely. Not to say that I've been suspicious of you, though that, too, as I'm sure you understand, but that I... gah..." He placed the glass back down onto the desk and pinched his nose again, before looking up towards Octavius. "It's funny. When I'm doing my duty under God, the words I need come to me so easily, but when I'm doing something for my own sake, no such luck."

"What are you getting at?" Octavius asked, simply.

"I've come to admire you. I didn't think that I could ever admire anyone who sits beneath my former tyrant, and yet, here we are. That isn't your fault, though, and I certainly don't hold your charm against you." He leaned back against the desk again, took another sip of his whiskey and sighed. "Under Him, I find it hard to justify doing things for my own sake, rather than His. But..."

As Octavius listened to him talk, he realised just how far he had fallen into Joshua's own charms. As he listened to him speak, he felt as if he were listening to a close friend, even though the word 'enemy' should have been more accurate. While Octavius had been distracted, idly sipping at his whiskey, Joshua had stopped talking. By the time Octavius realised that Joshua had already crossed the space between them to move right up in front of the other man.

Poor Octavius barely had time to react before Joshua had reached up, placed a hand against the back of his head and pulled him closer. Before he knew what was happening, the two of them were kissing, and it wasn't a gentle kiss, either. Joshua was making out with him, plunging a hungry tongue into his mouth as Octavius could do nothing but stand there in complete surprise. He felt as if he had been given freedom as if his allegiance to Caesar didn't carry the same weight that it once had. Sure, Caesar had far more power than either he or Joshua could ever hope to have, but all the same, it felt as if it paled in comparison to the protection that Joshua could give him. Perhaps he was being foolish.

He didn't much care.

Octavius kissed Joshua back with a passion he hadn't felt before, the taste of whiskey still thick on his tongue. The risk he was putting himself under was obvious to him even as he settled his lips against Joshua's and accepted their shared passion, but underneath the shadow of his affection, any danger didn't seem to matter very much.

Joshua didn't sit back and allow Octavius to take the lead, though. His hands moved around the other man's hips, then pulled him back towards the bed he kept a few metres behind the desk. Octavius kept kissing him, so entranced by Joshua's lips that he didn't even mind the other man taking control, laying him down against that bed, though there was one thing that Octavius eventually decided to do.

Reaching up, he slipped his fingers between the cloth covering Joshua's face and gave it a gentle tug—the initial tug wasn't supposed to accomplish much, he simply wanted to know whether Joshua would try to stop him. When no such attempt was made, Octavius kept tugging, slipping the cloth off bit by bit until Joshua's face had been revealed before him. Objectively speaking, it was a mess of charred flesh, but between the fact that it had been revealed to him under such special circumstances and the affection that he felt for Joshua, Octavius found it endearing.

A brief flash of thought ran through his mind, reminding him that those scars were the fault of the man he held allegiance to, and all that Octavius could do was gulp. "Having second thoughts?" Joshua asked him.

The other man shook his head. "No. No chance. Not at all. I just..."

"Understanding of a man as I am, I have to admit, I'd be disappointed if you chose to back out now," Joshua admitted.

Octavius shook his head again. "Really, it's not that. You're... handsome. Beautiful, even, if you— gah... I'm messing this up. My thoughts are clouded by... what happened to you, but it doesn't make me want you any less."

Joshua paused for a moment in thought, then slipped his hands down to grab his partner by the butt before moving further onto the bed on top of him, eventually coming to settle between his legs. "I've already ached for the pain inflicted upon me. By all accounts, the matter has been settled. Don't let it plague you the way that it did me. I am who I am, and that's all there is to it."

Octavius swallowed heavily, but soon found Joshua's lips against his own again. Joshua was right, and he— oh, screw it.

Octavius had spent the better part of the last few months allowing his thoughts to focus on what other people wanted him to do. Enough was enough. Even if only for the next few hours, he was going to enjoy himself. Their clothes soon came off, all-but ripped from their bodies as both of the men got naked and Joshua settled above Octavius once again.

They stuck to missionary at Joshua's insistence, but Octavius had to admit, all that time sticking to the one position had given Joshua the opportunity to pick up some tricks. He wrapped his legs around his lover, reached up to grasp his hands, entwined their fingers and laid back against the bed, a sense of comfort pushing through the overwhelming cloud that usually sat on his thoughts, and thus his ability to relax. The aforementioned tricks that Joshua had picked up served to make Octavius' moment of pure bliss even more liberating, the older man's cock probing in all the right places while Octavius moaned and twisted and twitched beneath him.

It was the first time in a long time that either of them had felt so completed by another, and when their time together came to an intense close a little later, both had to collapse in place and come to terms with what had just happened. Joshua placed his face within the crook of Octavius' neck, the sweat of their sex discomforting his face some, but he was used to that.

Octavius, meanwhile, could only look up towards the roof of the cave, deep in thought. With Joshua's seed still inside him, it was clear that he had made the choice to break away from Caesar—even if he opted to go back to the dictator, his heart wouldn't be in it, and the waning confidence that he had been feeling towards Caesar since the moment he first arrived in Zion had all-but melted away completely, yet that left him with one burning question.

"Do you think that it's too late for me to be saved?" Octavius ultimately asked, making sure that he was speaking clearly so that he wouldn't have to repeat the question a second time.

Joshua picked his head up from the other man's neck, then looked down at him. There was a moment of pause, and Octavius thought for a moment that Joshua was about to cast him aside, but he simply shook his head. "No. Of course not. It's never too late to be saved. If— well, I did things far worse than you have, but God's flock is a welcoming one." With that, Joshua pulled out of his partner, then moved over towards the edge of the bed. Octavius still wasn't entirely clear on what was going to happen next. He sat up, then glanced at Joshua with an uneasy gaze.

"So, I..."

"I know that you're feeling lost," Joshua said, moving to his feet. Octavius watched as he began to get dressed again, slipping into those old-but-faithful clothes and pulling the cloth back over his face. "But you don't have to worry. You're part of my flock, now, and I protect them to the best of my ability."

The former courier slid to the edge of the bed, grabbed what he could of his clothes and pulled them on, before being interrupted by Joshua placing a hand beneath his chin. "I was lost, too. But the path to redemption isn't easy to lose once you've found it. He saved me, and He'll save you, too, if you let him. I'll protect you, and he'll protect us."

As he finished speaking, Joshua's hand moved up alongside Octavius' face, cupped the side of it, then he ran his thumb underneath the other man's eye. The cloth covering Joshua's face made it hard to read his expression, but in his eyes was something that Octavius hadn't seen before—an affection, to be sure, but he seemed elated at the same time as if he were opening a gift from a treasured friend. After a long moment of silence, he spoke. "But I think the name Caesar gave to you sounds a little out of place now that you're out of his grip, wouldn't you agree?"

Octavius watched as Joshua's hand lowered, moved from his cheek down to his neck, then took gentle hold of the mark around his neck.

Half an hour later, Octavius emerged from the cave a new man, no longer carrying that name. Rebirthed as Joel, he accompanied Joshua to the bonfire. As they reached it, Joshua gave Joel a knowing nod, then a pat on the shoulder. Surrounded by a group that wouldn't judge him for what he was about to do, Joel stepped close to the fire and pulled out the mark that Caesar had given him, the proof that he belonged to the Legion. Not anymore.

After focusing his mind on all the reasons why he was distancing himself from the faction he had once fallen in love with, he took the mark in his hand and grasped it tightly, so much so that a weaker material would have crumbled. He then opened his eyes again, and under the watchful eye of Joshua, dropped the mark into the fire.


End file.
